A/N: Hello there. I love the Decepticons, I love Seekers, I love Starscream/Soundwave, and I love fairytales. Welcome to the crossroads of my obsession! -tbg

Once upon a time in a tiny, grimy city called Vos, there lived a little Seeker.

From the time he was sparked, he was brash, bold and could fly his bolts off. His father, an elderly Seeker called Cloudclimber, watched his son grow, giving him as much as he could and rejoicing as his precious sparkling grew up to be the fastest Seeker of his young age that Vos had ever seen.

For his part, the Seeker, called Starscream, adored his father while disdaining other mechs. He was convinced of his superiority and his loud mouth and sharp tongue often got him into trouble. It certainly didn't make him many friends. He didn't care, however. He and his father lived quietly and Starscream dreamed of one day going to Iacon City to make his fortune so that he and his father could live peacefully in bliss. The young Seeker grew to be incredibly handsome, and that along with his superior flying ability attracted a great deal of attention and made his father even prouder.

One day, when Starscream was almost of age, a great peril came to Cybertron. A plague of five-headed monsters descended on the peaceful planet, bent on turning Cybertronians into slaves. Some Cybertronians were unable to fight back, since that was not in their programming, but others were sparked to fight, and they banded together to rid the planet of these invaders.

A mech from the mines who called himself "Megatron," after one of Cybertron's greatest warriors, put himself at the head of the resistance, calling on all able-bodied mechs to fight against the intruders. Cloudclimber headed the call, but as Starscream was not of age, he could not join his father in the fight. Cloudclimber was elderly for a mech, and slower than he used to be, and Starscream did not want him to go. However, Megatron had promised a huge bounty to all those who joined, and Cloudclimber saw it as a ticket to a better life for himself and his son.

It was with a heavy spark that Starscream took leave of his father as he went to join Megatron's forces. His processor whirred as his father clutched him tight, stroking a hand gently over his wing.

"Be well, my son. Megatron will lead us to victory and I will return with enough credits to send you to the War Academy! You will be a credit to all of Seekerkind."

Starscream just nodded. He didn't want to be a warrior, but he didn't tell his father that. He just crossed his digits and prayed to the great god Primus to see his father through the war and returned safely to Vos.

Yet, when Starscream watched Cloudclimber transform and fly off, he knew he'd never see his father again.

And so it came to pass. Three orns after the five-faced usurpers were driven from the planet, Starscream came back from a flight and found he had visitors: Two hulking, triplechanging mechs and a tall, silver mech whose eyes were red as Pit and who had an unpleasant sneer. The silver mech was the warrior Megatron, and Starscream hated him before he even opened his mouth.

He hated him even more when Megatron began to speak.

Cloudclimber was dead, killed in one of the last battles of the war, Megatron informed the stricken Starscream, and what was more, he'd stolen credits that belonged to the rest of the army. They were not found on his frame, so as his next of kin, Starscream had to make good the debt.

Starscream knew his father was no thief, but he could do nothing and, of course, he could not prove Cloudclimber's innocence. He also could not get away: Megatron's bodyguards held their weapons on him and made it clear that they would not hesitate to use them.

When the young Seeker haltingly informed Megatron that he had no money to pay Cloudclimber's supposed "debt," the mech had smiled. It was a grin that had chilled Starscream's frame like a coolant bath.

"Well then," said Megatron, still smiling that awful smile. "You'll just have to work off the debt, won't you, little Seeker?"

Before Starscream could say a word, the two large mechs had grabbed his servos roughly, pinning them behind him. Megatron continued to smile evilly.

"Astrotrain, Blitzwing. It looks as if we've just found the mech we've needed to ... assist us in Kolkular. Bring him."

(*)

Starscream was flying high, high above the city. The area below him looked like clusters of antroids, and he savored the feel of the wind over his wings as he cut through the air. He was weightless, almost invisible. A streak of light -

"Starscream ..."

A shooting star, a flying marvel -

"Starscream?"

A mere glimmer in the air -

"STARSCREAM!"

Starscream was jolted out of his daydream and nearly dropped the energon cube he was refilling.

Standing in the doorway of the little refueling area was Skywarp, looking at him as if he was afraid he'd gone glitchy.

The young Seeker sighed irritably. "What is it?"

"Daydreaming again?" asked Skywarp, with a frown. "You're lucky Megatron didn't come in here. Your aft would've been in the infirmary ... not like that's anything new."

Starscream muttered something rude under his breath. "Skywarp, I'm busy. If you want something, stop fragging around and tell me what -"

"Are you done filling up the energon cubes?"

Starscream looked down in alarm. His little fantasy had gone on longer than he'd realized. He was only three-quarters done.

"... Almost."

Skywarp groaned loudly. "Screamer, do you want to keep getting slagged? You've been here long enough to know that Megatron wants the energon refined and in cubes when he comes back from the field. How much more do you have to do?"

"Not much," lied Starscream. "If you'd stop talking my audios off, I could get done! Or do you want me to tell mighty Megatron I didn't finish because you distracted me?"

"Frag you. I'm just trying to keep your aft online. Do what you want." Skywarp's optics narrowed angrily and he teleported away.

Starscream sighed softly and returned to his work, moving at a quicker pace in hopes of picking up the slack. As he filled the cubes with energon, Starscream thought about his daydream of flying free all across Cybertron and contrasted it with his bleak reality. He cursed sharply and blinked tears away from his optics.

It had been eight vorns since his father's death and his arrival at the fortress of Kolkular, smack in the middle of the slagheap city of Kaon, where Megatron had his forces. Over the vorns, Megatron had treated Starscream like slag, ordering him around, making him clean all the soldiers' quarters and refill the energon cubes. All in the name of paying Megatron back for the credits Cloudclimber had allegedly stolen.

From bits and pieces he'd managed to overhear, Starscream had come to the realization that his father had been denied the money Megatron had promised his soldiers and had taken the credits he felt he'd been owed. And for that, Starscream was sure Megatron had killed him and pretended that he'd died fighting the five-faced marauders.

Starscream had borne it all with great sadness. Hook, Megatron's personal medic, had fitted him with a tracking device so that even if he could escape, Megatron would be able to find him in a matter of nano-kliks. And anyway, Megatron hardly ever let him go outdoors unless he was accompanied by one of his triplechanging goons. He was given a half portion of barely passable energon each solar cycle and had a cramped little chamber to himself well away from Megatron's other soldiers. In this way, Megatron contrived to keep him weak and demoralized.

Starscream was free to walk around the compound provided he spoke to no one and his duties were completed, but he could only fly in formation with other Seekers, and Megatron had quite a few of them in his forces. None of them were remotely as good as he was, in Starscream's opinion, but there were two that came close.

One was Skywarp, who wasn't the sharpest wing in the air, but was an inventive flyer and amazing at creating new and innovative barrel roll maneuvers. The other was a dour Seeker named Thundercracker, a quiet mech who preferred to fly alone, but seemed to have a soft spark for Skywarp. Starscream thought that Thundercracker was an excellent flyer, but he was a moody son of a glitch who barely spoke unless spoken to and carried out Megatron's commands quietly, efficiently and without question.

Starscream hadn't been overly fond of either of them at first, but as time went on and his servitude to Megatron continued, they grew to be the closest things to friends he had amongst the warlord's soldiers.

He thought about Skywarp's warning and gulped slightly. Since he'd been in Megatron's control, he had grown a bit, but he wasn't especially large, especially since he was constantly underfueled, and he was no match for Megatron in size.

Yet, Starscream knew the overlord disciplined him harshly only rarely, not wanting to dent his frame. The Seeker sensed that Megatron was entranced by his beauty, but that he fought against it, abusing Starscream only because he didn't feel it was dignified to lower himself to frag a servant. But sometimes he forgot himself and beat the living slag out of Starscream, coming close to nearly offlining him a few times.

Starscream cursed again. The thing of it was, when Megatron wasn't beating him, he was ignoring him completely and commanding his soldiers to do the same, all except for Thundercracker and Skywarp. Starscream's days were an endless, mindless loop: Clean the barracks, tidy Megatron's special collection of weaponry, ensure the warlord's throne was absolutely spotless, refill the energon cubes ...

It was the same thing, solar cycle after solar cycle, vorn after vorn, the monotony being broken only when Megatron wanted a little show and allowed him to fly with the other Seekers. Megatron hadn't been in the mood to let Starscream go out with the others in quite a few solar cycles and the Seeker was getting antsy. He was a Seeker, for Primus' sake! He was sparked to fly! He felt as if he'd offline if he were cooped up in his tiny chamber for a moment longer.

Starscream had filled the final energon cube when he heard the garbled sounds from the throne room that indicated Megatron was there. He sighed in relief, knowing at least he'd finished his chores before the silver mech had returned. Starscream wearily got to his pedes and wiped his servos free of the excess energon.

He waited expectantly for Megatron to inspect his work, and was surprised when the overlord passed by the little garret without even a glance. Confused, Starscream stuck his helm out and saw Megatron with his guards and several other mechs trailing in his wake. Starscream's optics widened in surprise when Skywarp suddenly materialized with Thundercracker and followed the crowd into the War Room.

The Seeker was puzzled, and a little uneasy. He knew that Megatron had aspirations to extend his rule beyond Kaon and the Cybertronian hinterlands. He would need his army to fight to do that and it was possible he was planning a major offensive.

Starscream was sick of war. One war had taken away his father. He feared what another one might do.

He stood nervously in the little chamber, waiting. He could not leave until Megatron had inspected his work, or he'd be beaten for sure. Starscream shifted from ped to ped, anxiously. He was hungry and he desperately needed to empty his tanks, but wetting the floor would be less painful and humiliating than leaving before given permission by Megatron.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he heard heavy pedfalls in his direction. He held his breath as Megatron himself strolled in. Starscream went to one knee and bowed his helm.

The warlord looked carefully at the stack of energon cubes. "Well, Seeker?"

"The cubes have all been refilled, Lord Megatron."

"Hm. So they have. And the Throne Room and barracks are gleaming. Excellent."

The Seeker just managed not to jerk his helm up in surprise. Megatron was praising him? What in the name of Primus going on?

"You've done well today, Starscream," Megatron continued. "I suppose you've earned a reward. Perhaps you would like to fly tonight with some of my soldiers?"

Starscream felt his spark pound madly in his chassis and he repressed the urge to cheer. He was afraid that if he showed too much enthusiasm, Megatron would rescind the offer.

"I would like that very much. Thank you, Lord Megatron."

"And which soldiers would you like to trine with this night, little Seeker?"

Starscream paused. This was new. Megatron had never given him a choice before. He generally just selected two Seekers at random. He wondered if it was a test of some sort, yet Megatron's voice, while mildly mocking, betrayed nothing else.

"If it pleases you, Lord Megatron, I would like to fly with Skywarp and Thundercracker."

"Of course. It is a shame your origins are so lowly, Seeker, or I would trine you with them permanently. You fly flawlessly together. You may rise."

Starscream stood up slowly, his cheeks hot at Megatron's insult. Skywarp was just behind Megatron, and shook his helm at him, warning him not to talk back. Thundercracker just stood there, looking down at the floor.

"Blitzwing will shadow you. We wouldn't want you to get lost, would we?" Megatron smirked. "Leave when you like. You have three joors in which to amuse yourselves."

He turned and walked off, many of his troops following him. Blitzwing stayed behind, looking sour at having to babysit the three most gifted Seekers in the force. Skywarp beckoned to Starscream, grinning widely.

"Well, c'mon, Screamer. Move your aft or eat my spacedust!"

"Don't make me laugh, Skywarp." Starscream was smirking. "Even with teleportation abilities, I'd get a better race from a dead glitch mouse!"

"That's not fair, Starscream," said Thundercracker. "That would only be true if you gave the glitch mouse a head start."

Skywarp turned toward his usually quiet wingmate in surprise. "Hey!"

Starscream laughed and for a wild moment, he felt almost happy, as he, Skywarp, and Thundercracker transformed, ignoring Blitzwing's scowl, and blasted off into the night.

(*)

They'd flown at their top speeds, streaking right to the edge of the hinterlands, and Starscream loved every klik of it. It was always enjoyable dogfighting with the two of them. Skywarp and Thundercracker gave him a good challenge and a workout, and kept his processor off his troubles for awhile. The three jours passed like sands sinking to the bottom of the firelakes, and all too soon, they were again headed for the compound with Blitzwing making it clear that they'd better not make any unexpected detours.

Starscream's wiring was humming, and he felt renewed. But as Megatron's guarded compound came into view, he felt his spark sinking once more.

Heya, Screamer. What's gotten up your exhaust valve?

Starscream nearly broke formation. He, Thundercracker and Skywarp had discovered a frequency that they could communicate privately on without fear of Megatron or others eavesdropping, but they rarely used it, especially around Blitzwing, who, if he were smarter, could probably have intercepted their messages.

Nothing. I just wish we did this more often, that's all. Or I wish Megatron was in a better mood more often.

He heard Skywarp snicker. You might get your wish about that.

What? What are you talking about?

Nothing. Forget it. That was Thundercracker, being his usual taciturn self.

Aw, c'mon, TC. He should know. Hell, the whole planet will, if Megatron gets his way.

Starscream nearly purged his tanks. So Megatron was planning on war ...

He held his breath. What's that supposed to mean?

Well ... you've heard of the Grounder Prince, haven't you?

Starscream was taken aback. That wasn't the answer he'd been expecting.

The what?

The Grounder Prince. Lives in that huge castle in Iacon City? Tons of money -

But the Seeker was barely listening. Everyone had heard of the famed Grounder Prince. The stories about him were fantastical. He was said to be a direct descendant of Primus himself. According to the stories, the Prince was a handsome Grounder who had amazing abilities and could actually see into a mech's spark and processor and read his thoughts and emotions. He lived in a beautiful castle on a hill overlooking Iacon City and had only been seen in public a few times. When the invasion of the five-faced fiends came, it was said that the Grounder Prince had been spirited away underground for safekeeping. There were differing descriptions of his appearance, but all agreed he had a powerful build and a noble bearing and that no mech alive had ever seen his optics.

Starscream had not heard about the Grounder Prince in years. Cloudclimber had claimed to have seen him once, long before Starscream had been sparked. The old Seeker had said that he'd flown over the Prince's compound and the Prince had looked up at him. Cloudclimber claimed that at that moment, he'd felt a knocking in his spark that drove his instruments crazy and nearly sent him spiraling to the ground.

Starscream felt his vocalizer constrict as he thought of his father, but he shook it away. I know who he is. What's he have to do with Megatron?

Well, the Prince wants to be sparkbonded. He wants sparklings ...

What mech doesn't? What's so important about that?

He's not just any mech, Screamer. He's royalty! A cog from Primus himself, made in his image -

Get to the point, Skywarp ...

He's looking for a specific mech to bond with. One with an immortal spark.

Starscream thought his audios were going glitchy. A WHAT?

An immortal spark. You know, a spark that doesn't die.

The Seeker started to speak, but stopped. He knew that sometimes Skywarp didn't realize that not everyone was as dense as he was.

That doesn't exist. Only Primus had one of those. The Prince can't very well bond with the great god. He's not THAT special!

Yeah, I know, but the Prince says he knows it exists in just one mech, and he's going to find him. He's having a big party at his castle and he's invited all of the possibles.

Hmmm. It must be a pretty large castle to hold so many mechs.

Well sure, it's huge, but there won't be as many mechs there as you might think. The Prince is only looking for a flyer.

Starscream nearly pitched, but righted himself when he saw Blitzwing shadowing him a bit too closely.

A flyer? He thinks a flyer has an immortal spark?

Yep. He says it came to him in a vision. He says his sparkmate is out there somewhere and he's going to find him, bond with him, have tons of sparklings, all of it.

Then ... then what has Megatron to do with it? He's not a flyer!

Noooo ... but he has the largest fleet of flyers on the planet under his command. Megatron's pretty sure that the mech the Prince is looking for is one of us! He'd give his left bolt to have an ally as powerful and rich as the Grounder Prince, so Megatron is taking all the flyers to the party!

Starscream was stunned. Megatron thought someone inside Kolkular was the Grounder Prince's sparkmate? A flyer? And all of his flyers were going to the party? All of them?

All ...?

Er ... well, not all. That was Thundercracker again, and this time he sounded a little embarrassed. I mean ... not you.

Starscream felt a keen disappointment and a growing anger.

Why not me? I'm a flyer, too! I'm the best flyer in all of Kaon! In all of Cybertron!

Well, maybe. But anyway, you're not one of Megatron's soldiers ... you're ... you know ...

Yes. I know. Starscream was bitter. I'm the fragging help.

Neither Skywarp nor Thundercracker said anything for a moment.

Don't let it get you down, Screamer. It's just a party. A party given by a handsome, rich ... er ...

Yes, right. I'm sure I'd be bored to rust in that environment!

Starscream was seething. He wished he could hit something, but he knew that if he transformed into mech mode, Blitzwing would be on him like a guinea pigatron on energon shavings.

Look, Starscream, I wouldn't get your wings in a knot over this. Thundercracker sounded a little annoyed. This immortal spark thing is stupid. No mech has that. And even if it really did exist, it probably wouldn't be any of us. This is just going to be a waste of Megaton's time – and everyone else's. Personally, I'd rather stay at Kolkular. You're not going to be missing much.

Starscream was quiet. He knew that neither Thundercracker nor Skywarp could possibly understand. For them, it was a few joors of possible boredom. But for a prisoner, even the smallest chance to be free was like a paradise. And Megatron was taking that away from him just because he could! It wasn't fair!

As they entered within the airspace of the citadel and prepared their final approach, Starscream felt his spark pound madly and he knew that he couldn't take this lying down. Somehow, some way, he had to get to the Grounder Prince's party.